Deerfield, MA

Deerfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The 2020 census counted 5,090 residents. Deerfield is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area in western Massachusetts, lying 30 miles north of Springfield. Deerfield includes the villages of South Deerfield and Old Deerfield, which is home to two museums: Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association and Historic Deerfield, Inc. Deerfield is the central member of Frontier Regional and Union 38 School Districts, which also includes Conway, Whately, and Sunderland. The nearest community college, Greenfield Community College, is located in Greenfield. Deerfield makes sense once you see how its past, landscape, and current gathering spots overlap.

The useful thing to know about Deerfield is that its older landmarks and current settings belong to one connected place. Historic Deerfield is designated as a National Historic Landmark district, and the organization operates a museum with a focus on decorative arts, early American material culture, and history. Deerfield occupies a fertile portion of the upper Connecticut River Valley now known as the Pioneer Valley. At dawn on May 19, 1676, Captain William Turner led an army of settlers in a surprise retaliatory attack on Peskeompskut, in present-day Montague, then a traditional native gathering place.